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Tragic tot Ayeeshia Jane Smith died at the hands of her evil mum (Image: Staffordshire Police)

Smith, of Overseal, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, has now challenged her conviction at the Appeal Court, in London, with her lawyers arguing it was “unsafe”, reports Birmingham Mail .

Her barrister, John Butterfield QC - who also represented her at trial - argued that an interruption by the trial judge as he made his closing speech in Smith’s defence caused “prejudice” in the minds of jurors.

He said Mrs Justice Andrews’ intervention had the effect of painting him as someone who was “sly enough” to make points he shouldn’t have been making.

The barrister added: “The judge weighed in and weighed in, in a way that was wrong, I say, on a number of different levels, in the middle of defence counsel’s closing address.

“It is hard to understate just how devastating this was to the credibility of the defence case. To trespass on the closing remarks at all was a risk and was likely to have consequences.